Orchid facts. A flower from heaven (sutra)

Mediafeed; Hellmuth Hecker; Kelly Ani, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Vanilla seed pods -- a flavor miracle -- come from Mexico and Guatemala (msn.com).

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Things most don’t know about orchids

Flowers of Happiness Will Bloom

Anyone who’s ever cared for orchids knows that they’re pretty special.

From their practically microscopic seeds, to their tasty seed pods, to their worldwide range, these flowering beauties are nothing short of amazing.

They seem more of a celestial item -- like the mandarava (flame tree, coral tree, erythrina) bloom in Buddhist texts (e.g., Maha Kassapa: Father of the Sangha) -- than a terrestrial one. Here are a few things most probably didn’t know about them:

1. They are the largest family of flowering plants

By some estimates, Orchidacea is the largest family of flowering plants, with at least 25,000 to 30,000 species — not including the 100,000 hybrids and cultivars created by horticulturalists that aren’t naturally occurring. Of all flowering plant species on Earth, orchids make up about 10%. More

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After the Buddha's passing: A flower from heaven

Hellmuth Hecker, Maha Kassapa: Father of the Sangha, Chp. 8 (DN 16), revised and enlarged translation from German by Nyanaponika Thera (edited by Wisdom Quarterly)

Devas and human beings loved to give the Buddha the gift of fragrant flowers.

Wildflowers are neon signs doing everything they can to attract pollinators like bees.

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Maha Kassap meets an ajivika naked ascetic

One of the Buddha's main disciples, Maha Kassapa, played a leading role in the Monastic Community (Sangha) after the Buddha passed. Only two of the five most prominent disciples were present, the brothers Ananda and Anuruddha. Sariputta and Maha Moggallana had already passed into bliss.

Maha Kassapa, with a large company of wandering ascetics, was traveling on the main road from Pava to Kusinara to see the Buddha. He veered and sat down under a tree to rest. Just then a naked ascetic passed by with a mandarava flower in his hand, which is said to grow only in a celestial (deva) world.

When Maha Kassapa saw it, he knew something unusual must have happened for such a flower to be found on earth.

He asked the naked ascetic whether he had heard any news about the Buddha, and the naked ascetic affirmed that he had, saying: "The recluse Gautama passed into nirvana a week ago. I picked up this mandarava flower from the place of cremation."

It looks like a celestial flower from the deva realm, the flame tree (Erythrina sandwicensis)

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I'm not "naked." I'm a "sky-clad" sadhu.

Among the monastics who heard the news, only those who were arhats [fully enlightened] like Maha Kassapa could remain calm, cool, and collected.

The others who were not yet liberated from the passions and defilements lamented and wept: "Too soon has the Blessed One passed into nirvana! Too soon has the Eye of the World vanished from our sight!"

Flame tree flamboyant (Tropical Plantae)

There was one [crochety] monk named Subhadda who had ordained in his old age. He addressed the others: "Enough, friends! Do not grieve! Do not lament! We are well rid of that Great Ascetic. We have been troubled by his telling us, 'This is befitting, that is not befitting.' Now we can do what we like, and we won't have to do what we do not like!"

[This led Maha Kassapa to realize the need for a great Buddhist council to formalize the Teachings (Dharma) of the Buddha. In that sense, Maha Kassapa became the founder of "Buddhism," taking what he had learned from the Buddha, what he knew about monasticism, society, and Brahmins to give us a new -ism. Prior to that Buddhism was not a religion but a path of practice to enlightenment. It was soon to become a formal structure.]

Until then it had not been possible to set the funeral pyre alight as the devas [celestial "shining ones"] present wanted to wait until Venerable Maha Kassapa came and paid his respects to the remains of the Buddha. When he arrived at the place of cremation, he reverently walked twice around the pyre with clasped hands then, with bowed head, paid his respects at the feet of the Tathagata (the Buddha).

Relics (sarira) are an arhat's cremation remains.

When his company of monastics did likewise, the pyre, it is said, burst into flames by itself. Hardly had the bodily remains of the Tathagata been cremated when there arose a conflict about the distribution of the relics (sarira) among the laypeople assembled and those who had sent messengers later.

The distribution was settled by the Brahmin Dona, who divided the relics into eight portions and distributed them among. He took the vessel in which the relics had been.

There's a reserve in Los Angeles County for spring wildflowers (weather.com)

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Maha Kassapa brought his share of the relics to the current king of Magadha, Ajatasattu. Having done so, he turned his thoughts to the preservation of the Buddha's spiritual heritage, the Teachings (Dharma) and the Disciplinary Code (Vinaya).

The necessity to do so was demonstrated to him by Subhadda's challenge of the discipline, advocating moral laxity. Maha Kassapa took this as a warning. If that attitude were to spread, it would lead to the decline and ruin of both the Monastic Community and the Teaching.

To prevent this, Maha Kassapa proposed holding a council by which the Dharma and Discipline could be reliably established and secured. He turned to the monastics gathered at Rajagaha (modern Rajgir, India). They agreed and at their request Maha Kassapa selected 500 [lit. "a large number" not actually 500] members, all but one of whom were fully enlightened (arhats). More

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